Tottenham frets over Bale blow

Gareth Bale has enjoyed an astonishing season -- but the Welsh wing wizard faces a nervous wait to find out whether he will be back in action any time soon.

Tottenham star Bale injured his right ankle while going in for a challenge with Basel's David Degen on a frustrating night for the home team as it came from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw in the first leg of its Europa League quarterfinal.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed an outstanding season, scoring 22 goals in 38 appearances for a Tottenham side chasing a place in next season's Champions League.



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'It shouldn't be as bad as it looks on the image,' manager Andre Villas-Boas told the BBC after still television pictures had shown a painful looking blow.

'There is a big, big possibility if we stay positive that he will be fit for the Man City game (on April 21) and it will only take him out of two games.'

'We still have a big squad and the ability to adapt (without Bale).

'We just have to play against Everton (at the weekend) and see when these players get back to make us even stronger.'

Bale's injury capped a frustrating night for Tottenham, which failed to produce the kind of performance its fans had been expected.

Not since 1984 has the club won a European trophy -- on that occasion it defeated Anderlecht over two legs to win the now defunct UEFA Cup.

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But any thoughts supporters might have had of reaching the final in Amsterdam were well and truly shattered as Basel started at breakneck speed.

Swiss champion Basel, which knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League in 2011, grabbed a 30th minute lead when Valentin Stocker fired home from close range after Marco Streller's effort had hit the post.

With White Hart Lane stunned into silence, Basel took full advantage with Fabian Frei heading home just four minutes later.

Tottenham, currently third in the Premier League, hit back before the break when Emmanuel Adebayor poked home with Gylfi Sigurdsson's deflected effort ensuring the game finished level.

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Across London, Fernando Torres scored twice as Chelsea claimed a 3-1 win over Russian side Rubin Kazan at Stamford Bridge.

The Spain striker, wearing a face mask to protect his broken nose, opened the scoring on 16 minutes before Victor Moses added a second to give Rafael Benitez's men a measure of control.

Bebras Natcho's penalty reduced the arrears, but Torres plundered another goal after the break to seal the win.

'It's good for his confidence,' Benitez told ESPN following Torres' double.

'His work-rate was really good. I'm pleased for him. I have said before, he's training well. It was a question of time.

'He scored two goals today and hopefully it will be the same in the next game.'

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Elsewhere, Benfica came from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win over Newcastle at Estadio da Luz.

Newcastle grabbed a 12th minute lead through Papiss Cisse and almost extended its advantage further only for the same player's strike to crash against the post.

Benfica hit back when Rodrigo lashed home from close-range following a mistake by Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul.

But the visitor continued to threaten and the post once again denied Cisse much to the frustration of manager Alan Pardew.

That frustration was increased when a defensive error by Davide Santon allowed Lima to fire Benfica in front with 25 minutes remaining before Oscar Cardozo rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot.

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'If we'd taken 2-1 you'd like to think we'd have a fantastic chance but it's an uphill chance now,' Pardew told ITV4.

'I think the away goal could come into it if we get the first goal (in the second leg). If we can get the first goal we only need one more.

'They are a quality side and we have to give them respect, but we showed tonight if we are ambitious we can hurt a team.'

In Turkey, Fenerbahce scored twice in the final 12 minutes to claim a 2-0 win over Italian side Lazio.

Pierre Webo and Dirk Kuyt were both on target for the home side in Istanbul, which proved too strong for a Lazio team forced to play with 10-men after Ogenyi Onazi was shown the red card three minutes after the break.

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Meanwhile, Barcelona confirmed it has lodged a formal complaint with UEFA following the performance of German referee Wolfgang Stark during Tuesday's 2-2 Champions League draw at Paris Saint-Germain.

The La Liga leader was unhappy that the official failed to stop play during the quarterfinal first leg tie while Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba were both left prostrate following a collision in the penalty area.

'The club has written to UEFA due to a series of incidents on the pitch in the understanding that objectively speaking it was evident that the referee did not apply the rules of the game,' Barca spokesman Toni Freixa told a news conference Thursday.

'When two players from the same team are on the floor the referee should stop the match, which did not happen.

'What's more he then obliged them to leave the pitch, in contravention of the rules.

'An incident that is sufficiently serious in a competition like the Champions League to bring to UEFA's attention so that it does not happen again.'

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Barca also made public its annoyance at the failure of the officials to rule out Zlatan Ibrahimovic's strike, which came with the forward in an offside position.

The Swede's 79th minute effort, which made the score 1-1, was fiercely contested by the Barcelona players.

'We are fully conscious of the possibility of errors in refereeing and we do not consider ourselves badly treated,' Freixa said.

'But it surprises us that in a high-level competition a referee does not know the rules.

'We are not judging the work of referees but the basic principle that a judge should know the law. We hope it does not happen again.'







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